I'm not a big fan of David Bowie, but there was a scene that impressed me in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth. A medical test involving X-rays causes the contact lenses he wears as part of his human disguise to permanently affix themselves to his eyes - he will never see/apprehend things as before.

For me, this is what a great majority of humanity has become today.

Symbols can help find a way out, they are NOT made by humans. A symbol is there to "point" at something that is beyond words (i.e. there is no proper words for a Divine attribute outside Manifestation). All books of the world would never be enough to exhaust every aspect of a symbol.

I use traditional calligraphy that I find more eloquent (as I do with musical elements), this one was the original chosen by René Guénon in chapter XVII of his book La Grande Triade (there might be a translation somewhere).

It involves four elements, the first, the Principle, is not represented (though it could be seen in the support, for example, a sheet of paper).

From top to bottom: Heaven, Man, Earth.

For the Tao, these 3 terms mean much more than their shriveled meanings of today.

"The Way is great, the Heaven is great, the Earth is great, the King is great.

In the middle, thus, there are four great things, but the King alone is visible"

Tao-te-king - chap XXV

Seen from the West, Wang can be considered as the three powers governing the manifested Universe:

Providence, Will, Destiny,
"Man is neither an animal nor a pure intelligence; it is a common being, placed between the matter and the spirit, between Heaven and Earth, to be its (willing) link "- Fabre d'Olivet
while Hindus may see the three gunas: sattva, rajas, tamas .

But let me put it straight: I am not "initiated" in anything. For me, it's a model, a way of life. Orient one´s intention to Heaven and pull up what is behind/under/with you.

Which is why I write Own your Self, assuming one's vocation.

It implies all that I do in life, which can be summarized by:

whatever the situation, always ensure the survival of

yourself, your family, friends, neighbors,
the place where you live,
the people you work with,
customers,
nature
the world,
the universe:
OURS

This is true sustainability.

Dia-pason

About 432 Hz

and the "international standard" of A = 440 Hz, compulsory for materialist Westerners

As I asked Keshavram Iengar to which note he tuned, he closed his eyes a few seconds

then sang:

ॐ (Om)

and said:

"here, this is the note for my tampura"

Prabir the tabla player told me about traditionnal tuning: the soloist, be it instrumentalist or singer, gives his/her note for the tabla to tune his "Sa" on (the higher tabla), and - as Keshavram - "for a woman singer, usually, it´s a fourth over men"

Tuning forks or electronic tuners they never needed, the Westerners brought them in.

My favorite quantum physicist writes that music "functions whatever the basic tone", in which he´s absolutely right.

Unfortunately he adds that it´s made out of "intervals compared to a frequency that can be placed anywhere without any major disadvantages if one considers that nature is invariant of scale".

Ah.

I see many major disadvantages.

As soon as you play with other musicians, you have to follow the sect rule, Classic, 442; Baroque, 440 a 1/2 step lower; Contemporary, up to 450; Rock, 440; Jazz, like Classic; etc. folk musicians seem to have less problems, maybe because they´re used to various "open-tuning"?

But generally, musicians are stuck - up to aggression, or is it simply laziness? - In their standard.

Indeed for acoustic instruments, I understand some (viola da gamba, bassoon, oboe...) need sometimes days before they adapt to a new tuning,

But there is a reference: if one considers the law of natural harmonics and looks for a frequency to "join the stars" (Dante), then the obvious thing would be to look where we are.

Following the planet rhythm where we produce our musical sounds, a wider range could be the cycle of 25 920 years for the precession of the equinoxes, and the number 108 (why 108? I come back to it), from which we get various interesting numbers:

An A which vibrates 108 times per second (so 108 Hz), vibrates 25920 times in 4 minutes
The average dude breathes 18 times in a minute, a frequency of 18:60 = 0,3 Hz
That same dude´s heart beats 72 times per minute, 72:60 = 1,2 Hz
Breathing is so in a ratio of 1 to 360 (a circle has 360 degrees) with 108
the heart pulse is in a ratio of 1 to 90 (a right angle) with 108
The cycle of the Moon eclipses is 18 years
25920:18 = 1440, the number of minutes in one terrestrial day
The ratios of the precession of equinoxes with the cycle of the Moon eclipses and one terrestrial year, are the same as for a day:minute:breath = 25920:18:1

How we get 432 from 108, you guessed, but curiously, the number of grains in a shivaite rosary is 108, the Rigveda has 10800 stanzas.

It is said the Egyptians measured 108 000 000 Remen for the length of the equator, but google doesn´t allow me to verify.
the smallest number that can be divided by 720, 1440 and 108 without rest is 4320.
4320 is the basis for the calculation of the length of an Indian Manvantara (10 = 4 + 3 +2 + 1 - as in the ancient Greek Tetraktys), of which our present last period is the Kali Yuga.

So we can happily forget the Goebbels conspiracies (the Germans chose A as 440 Hz in 1859 and the British Standards Institution adopted 440 Hz in 1939),

and for what I am concerned, If a standardised pitch is needed, then 432 Hz, which has the great advantage of being more inwardly oriented, unless I have the same ears as Giuseppe Verdi.

All´opra! All´opra! Dagli! martella!

Chi del gitano i giorni abbella?

La zingarella!

Besides, after a diapason, there is much more work with intervsls,

and since we need to BE in tune, perhaps getting closer to the Earth will bring us closer to the Logos ?

Now there are many other possible frequencies.

It seems to have been known for quite a while, as evidenced by the cave of Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni in Malta. .

There is a lot of research being done on frequencies, as can be seen on this page, (saved here as pdf in case the page disappears Frequencies ) where we also find 432 Hz.

I am not at all convinced that the binaural beats technique is so beneficial, mainly because it needs electrical devices

Over the screams of mortars and men, the sound of courage remains

I mentioned last week I would write more about my friend Matt Steady...

Australian gamba

Let me first greet the newcomers in my fairyland, and since we are in the era of the viola da gamba revival, let me present you a gambist from Sydney: Jenny Eriksson

Solo upgrade

I´ve been playing a lot of acoustic viol in the past weeks, and keep going. I´m working on 2 repertoires for solo concerts, one acoustic and one electronic with loops.

When a fake hides another

I´ve been playing a lot of acoustic viol in the past weeks, and keep going. I´m working on 2 repertoires for solo concerts, one acoustic and one electronic

Beds have a life of their own

Practicing domestic happiness I listened to Debussy's first Arabesque. Nice piano ballade, everything is there, the flair of the early twentieth century, and first perfumes of the 30s in the second movement, these ideas have been well-exploited since by jazz pianists.

Pantagruelian vision of social media by Hieronymus Bosch

How lucky I am, being cut off from useless infos and Fackbook´s suspicion over a breach of their community standards, or bedroom revolutionaries.

Dia-pason

Back to the "international standard" of A = 440 Hz, compulsory for us materialist Westerners

Artistic decisions

Being forced to join the bandwagon, I finally opened the internet on my cell phone, so let me first apologize to the people whose mail I couldn´t answer in the last weeks!

When Internet is gone, comes the postman...

.. from Strasburg, France, senator´s pace as well, must have something to do with the proximity of German Telekom.

A busy week

My internet and telephone are cut because of works in the neighboring new house, and thanks to Telekom I have to relocate at my friend´s Rolf and squat his line for 2 days.

pure bliss

3 days in the desert of Rajasthan, these pants - with stupid seams that rubbed everywhere it shouldn´t - helped me attain pure bliss the 3 following days.

The environment creates Man, cities are harmful

Sometimes I feel like becoming a Sadhu, but I still have responsibilities for others, especially my daughter.

Industry without art is brutality

Shall we stay in prison?

Laziness, ignorance, fear or Stockholm syndrome? One thing always puzzles me, that's why people indulge in their habits.

Sound comes first

All perceptible matter comes from a primary substance, or tenuity beyond conception, filling all space, the Akasha or luminiferous ether, which is acted upon by the life-giving Prana or creative force, calling into existence, in never ending cycles all things and phenomena.

Music of the Spheres?

The Ancients were cool, but I still wonder how does the Music of the Spheres sound where there is no air to resonate?

Sure, there is no one either to hear it.

Mode comes from boredom

I chose country life for the rhythm of the natural life. When I am in a city, I feel all the pressure of too many souls around me.

Iron age, year unknown

The train arrives soon , bell, barrier ... The time stopped yesterday in Huglfing in Bavaria.

Let´s take the 432 train for When

Jules came from the Antilles, and worked as a concierge at the Hotel Lillebonne, the culture centre in the old town of Nancy.

How gaga are they with "their" Lady?

Curiously, life brings me constantly to meet architects, I even married one ...

A, B, C, Ah, vous dirai-je, maman?

My grandfather was a bookbinder and sold used books, I still live between several readings.

Curiously, the Chinese dragon´s name is LOG

One topic today, and I ask you one thing: please DECIDE to understand.

Collective Stockholm syndrome

A few clarifications first

I do not write to prove I am right, neither to boast my "culture", but to explain what moves me to produce the music that I do..

The baby and the bath water

Long before the internet, in the 90s, my friends Jean Poncet and Xavier Mignon organized deprogramming seminars. These seminars don´t happen anymore, but I still have notes here and there. And Jean Poncet publishes books.

Shriveled

I'm not a big fan of David Bowie, but there was a scene that impressed me in the 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth.

Out of sync

There is some truth in comparing opera singers to trumpets (the result of their training to sound as loud as possible). Also, most of the time, they hardly care about the meaning of the lyrics they´re singing.

A secret, by definition, remains unknown.

I just saw an Internet video titled "the secret power of music they don't want you to know"